Glenrose Xaba blows field away again to clinch maiden Durban SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge

Glenrose Xaba was in imperious form once again as the Boxer Athletics Club runner stormed to victory in the Durban leg of the SPAR Women's 10km Challenge on a sunny but chilly Sunday morning, in a time of 31:54.

Ethiopian 19-year-old Diniya Abaraya did well to finish second (32:09) while her compatriot (Nedbank Running Club) Selam Gebre finished third (32:31). Hollywood Athletics Club runners Neheng Khatala (32:31) and local favourite Tayla Kavanagh (32:32) finished fourth and fifth.

The top five women all dipped under 33 minutes in a fast race.

Gebre had pushed defending Grand Prix series winner Xaba hard in the opening leg in Cape Town, and it looked like that would be the case again after a typically fast start by the Boxer runner.

Xaba and the Ethiopian duo broke clear of the early pacesetters after 2km and the South African seemed prepared to bide her time, looking comfortable tucked just behind the Nedbank runners.

However, the South African road and track star hit the front near the 4km mark as the gap to the chasing pack widened.

When Xaba decided to kick near the 7km mark, the Ethiopians were unable to respond, with Gabre visibly struggling as she dropped further back. Abaraya's challenge was also fading fast.

Xaba didn't take her foot off the accelerator in the closing stages as she breasted the tape at the finish at the Kings Park Rugby Stadium outer fields well clear of her rivals on the out-in course.

The runner, who is coached and mentored by former Olympic 800m star Caster Semenya, is looking invincible after staking an early claim for a potential series repeat.

"My race today was okay from the beginning because I was planning to go with them (Gebre and Abaraya) for about 4km because the last two weeks I was racing internationally and never got so much recovery time," she said at the post-match media conference.

"I'm very happy with the time that I ran today. It's a blessing to win the Durban leg of the series because I've never won it. I was always number two or three, or further back in the top 10."

"It was wonderful weather, good conditions," Abaraya said. "We pushed one another and I'm happy with the result and I want to congratulate Glenrose for this great achievement."

Gebre had looked spent at the finish, collapsing after crossing the line.

"I was feeling a bit under the weather. I had a severe headache and I couldn't control myself but I had to push myself and see how far I could go," she explained. "And I managed to finish third, so it's a bonus for me and I'm very happy with the result." 

The evergreen Lebo Phalula also braved illness to win the veteran (40-49) age category in a time of 36:19. 

"Today was not a good day at the office," she admitted afterwards. "Coming back from swine flu, my body couldn't respond very well because I was very sick the last two weeks."

The Boxer Athletics Cub veteran said she had considered quitting at the 5km mark but decided to soldier on.

Meanwhile, rising 21-year-old star Zanthe Taljaard finished in a credible eighth place in a time of 34:02, improving on her 10th place finish in the Cape Town leg of the series.